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BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of Burning Man attendees readied to make their "exodus" on Monday as the counter-culture arts festival in the Nevada desert ends in a sea of drying mud instead of a party around its flaming effigy namesake. One person died at the event in the Black Rock Desert, authorities said on Sunday, providing few details. Every year Burning Man brings tens of thousands of people to the Nevada desert to dance, make art and enjoy being part of a self-sufficient, temporary community of like-minded spirits. The festival typically has a penultimate night send-off with the burning of a giant wooden effigy of a man, along with a fireworks show. Reporting by Anna Tong at Black Rock City and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Marc Chenard, revelers, Trevor Hughes, Brian Fraoli, Fraoli, Anna Tong, Rich McKay, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: National Weather Service, Center, Rock City, USA, Network, REUTERS, Acquire, Black Rock City, Thomson Locations: Nevada, Reno, College Park , Maryland, Rock, New York, San Francisco, Black, Atlanta

☆ Live updates: Burning Man festival rain strands thousands in Black Rock Desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Maureen Chowdhury | Matt Meyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Comedian Chris Rock and DJ Diplo hitched a ride out of the rain-soaked Burning Man festival in the bed of a fan's pickup truck, but not before hiking miles through thick mud, videos posted to social media show. Rock shared a short video on Instagram Stories of the swampy conditions at the festival grounds on Saturday. A heavy rainstorm battered Nevada’s Black Rock Desert Friday evening and made the typically arid "playa" a "mucky, muddy" mess, attendees said. Diplo then posted a series of videos showing him board a flight — muddy and shoeless. "No one was making it out of burning man they didn’t believe we would walk 6 miles in the mud.

Persons: Chris Rock, DJ Diplo, Diplo Organizations: DC, Labor Locations: Washington, Echostage

☆ Diplo hitchhiked ride out of rain-drenched Burning Man and actually made it to his DC concert
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Nothing can stop Diplo from making it to a concert. It was made clear when the DJ and producer showed up to his scheduled concert in Washington DC Saturday night after hitchhiking his way out of the Burning Man festival, where more than 70,000 people remain trapped on Sunday after heavy rains inundated the area. “I legit walked the side of the road for hours with my thumb out cuz I have a show in DC tonight and didn’t want to let y’all down,” Diplo wrote in the caption of a video posted to his verified Instagram page on Saturday. The video showed Diplo and comedian Chris Rock – who was also at the festival over the weekend in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert – piled into the back of a truck with a group of people cruising on what appeared to be solid ground. “But god did.”

Persons: ” Diplo, Diplo, Chris Rock –, Chris Rock, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Washington DC, Diplo, DC Locations: Nevada

CNN —As thousands of people remain unable to leave the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated their campsites with ankle-deep mud Saturday, authorities say they are investigating a death at the event. Vehicles trying to drive out will get stuck in the mud, Burning Man organizers said Saturday. Dawn brought muddy realization to the Burning Man encampment, where the exit gates remain closed indefinitely because driving is virtually impossible. A rainbow appears at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, on September 2, 2023. “Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another,” Burning Man said on its website.

Persons: “, Trevor Hughes, Dawn, Hannah Burhorn, ” Burhorn, It’s, Sean Burke, Amar Singh Duggal, Andrew Hyde “, Duggal, Burhorn, ”, Andrew Hyde, Gerlach Organizations: CNN, Land Management, Reno Gazette, Sheriff’s, ” Authorities, Authorities, USA, ”, Vehicles, “, Resources Locations: Nevada, Pershing, Black Rock, Rock, BRC, Reno, San Francisco, , Nevada

☆ Music and light shows bring new energy to derelict Hungarian power plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Krisztina Than | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Festivalgoers attend the INOTA music and visual arts festival at an abandoned thermal power plant in Varpalota, Hungary, August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Marton Monus Acquire Licensing RightsVARPALOTA, Hungary, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A derelict power plant in Hungary came back to life on Thursday, powered by music and light shows as thousands of festival-goers marvelled at its three huge cooling towers dominating the starry late summer sky. The INOTA coal-fired thermal plant, built in the 1950s during the Communist era and once one of the country's largest industrial sites, was shut down in 2001. Hilda Carlsson, 33, said she and her friends travelled from Sweden largely to see Frahm at the INOTA festival. The INOTA plant featured in the epic 2017 American dystopian movie "Blade Runner 2049", starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, which was partly filmed in Hungary.

Persons: Marton Monus, marvelled, Nils Frahm, Hilda Carlsson, Carlsson, Daniel Avery, Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Daniel Besnyo, Besnyo, Akos Marencsak, Krisztina, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Varpalota, Hungary, Berlin, Sweden, United Kingdom, Lebanon Hanover, Hungarian

☆ Ultrarich Burning Man attendees are getting slammed by climate activists for private jets and their outlandish use of plastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Burning Man began on Sunday — and some of the attendees were met with protests. Climate and anti-capitalist activists created blockades to hold up traffic at the festivalThe use of private jets by rich attendees and single-use plastics motivated the protests. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The blockade is also in protest against the popularization of Burning Man among affluent people who do not live the stated values of Burning Man, resulting in the commodification of the event," Seven Circles said. Burning Man Project, the group behind the festival, promotes leaving no trace on the environment, gifting and collaborating instead of buying, and decommodification in its 10 principles. The Burning Man Project did not immediately respond back to a request for comment from Insider.

Persons: —, dawDjxhV4y, michelle lh, Mun Chung, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Elizabeth Holmes, splurge Organizations: bros, Guardian, Silicon, Amazon Locations: Nevada's

☆ An Arabic Adaptation of ‘Chicago’ Razzle Dazzles Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Sara Aridi | More About Sara Aridi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the orchestra began vamping for roughly a thousand festivalgoers at a 19th-century palace in a mountainous town in Lebanon, Selma Fehmi — the Velma Kelly character in a new Arabic version of the musical “Chicago” — started to croon lyrics to the tune of “All That Jazz.”But this reimagining of the show’s opening song quickly provided a Lebanese twist: “Hurry, pick me up and let’s take a drive/to a small place hidden in the center of Beirut.”The Arabic adaptation of “Chicago,” the longest-running show currently on Broadway, debuted at the Casino du Liban in May with a sold-out run that extended to five nights. The team returned with three performances in August at an art festival in Beiteddine, a town some 20 miles southeast of Beirut — where this adaptation takes place — and now hopes to take the show abroad, within the Middle East and beyond. Despite dealing with American cultural references and wildly different syntax, translating the musical into Arabic came pretty smoothly, said Roy ElKhouri, the writer, choreographer and director of the adaptation. The context particularly speaks to present-day Beirut, said Anthony Adonis, who adapted the lyrics.

Persons: Selma Fehmi —, Velma Kelly, ” —, Roy ElKhouri, Anthony Adonis Organizations: Broadway, Liban Locations: Lebanon, Beirut, ”, Chicago, Beiteddine, Beirut —

☆ Roller coaster riders stuck upside down for hours at Wisconsin festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Christina Zdanowicz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Festivalgoers got more of an adventure than they bargained for Sunday when a roller coaster ride got stuck at a fair in Wisconsin, leaving them hanging upside down for hours. Eight passengers were left suspended when a mechanical failure stalled the ride at the Forest County Festival in Crandon, Wisconsin, the Crandon Fire Department said. Emergency personnel work to remove people from a stuck roller coaster in Crandon, Wisconsin, on July 2. Emergency personnel stand by as eight people are removed from a stuck roller coaster in Crandon, Wisconsin. The ordeal came two days after a father spotted a crack in a steel support pillar at the top of a roller coaster at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Persons: CNN — Festivalgoers, Brennan Cook, WJFW, ” Erica Kostichka, Kostichka, ” Cook Organizations: CNN, Crandon Fire Department, Antigo, EMS, WAOW, Fire Department, Firefighters Locations: Wisconsin, Forest, Crandon , Wisconsin, Charlotte , North Carolina, Rhinelander

☆ Sun, Sea and Books Make This Festival an Enticing Destination
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Anderson Tepper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sun is shining, the waves are lapping against the shore, and the crowds are filing into a giant tent for the first sessions of the day at the Calabash International Literary Festival, on Jamaica’s low-key southern coast. Private tents dot the beach behind the stage, where some festivalgoers have slept. Jamaica’s poet laureate, Olive Senior, stops to embrace old friends at the entrance to the grounds, making plans to catch up soon. Meanwhile, busloads arrive from the capital and other points across the island. By 10 a.m. more than a thousand people have filled the seats, gazing out at what might be the world’s most breathtaking stage, framed by ocean and blue sky.

Persons: Olive, busloads, Margaret Busby, ”, Linton Kwesi Johnson Organizations: Olive Senior Locations: British, Africa

☆ A Vigilant Steve McQueen, a Misguided Maïwenn and Other Cannes Scenes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Presumably Johnny Depp, a heat-seeking target for the armies of paparazzi amassed here, helps explain the movie’s presence. The king is played by a powdered and bewigged Depp, who looks suitably indolent, though perhaps because he’s underused. The king is mainly there to look gaga at Jeanne, which he does a great deal, though it’s a tough call whether Louis lavishes as much attention on Jeanne as Maïwenn does. Among all the close-ups of Jeanne giggling, Maïwenn folds in some palace intrigue and the briefest nod at the terror to come. There’s some comfort that “Jeanne” isn’t contending for the Palme d’Or, which would be an embarrassment, but is being presented out of competition.

☆ Guinea book festival hopes to turn the page on low literacy rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Souleymane Camara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 15th edition of Guinea's "72 Hours of the Book" festival unfolded in venues across the capital Conakry, bringing together a wide array of writers, publishers, and readers from the West African country and across the continent. "We Guinean authors have mobilized strongly to come together and promote this event," Conakry-based author Bademba Barry said between bouts of signing copies of his works. Despite its low literacy rate, Guinea boasts a rich literary heritage and more than a dozen publishing houses. But Conakry's arena transformed into a haven this week for readers clamouring to meet their favourite local authors, writers seeking to expand their audiences, and budding creators who took part in workshops. Reporting by Souleymane Camara; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ I grew up in Coachella Valley. Here are 10 mistakes I see tourists make when they visit for the music festival.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kaitlin Clapinski | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewI was raised in the Coachella Valley, a destination known for its excessive heat, older demographics, and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Getting home with a rideshare is also challenging since the cell service on the festival grounds isn't always great. Related storiesIf you can, rent a locker on the festival grounds and store a jacket for later. The need for a cohesive outfit should never override functionality, especially at a music festival. The music festival has water-bottle-refill stations and they usually aren't super crowded, in my experience.

Persons: —, I've, isn't, Kaitlin Clapinski, fanny, groaning, BLACKPINK Organizations: Service, Coachella Valley Music, Arts, Business, Coachella Locations: Coachella, Santa

☆ First-time homebuyers face a lose-lose scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On the agenda today:But first: Our LA bureau chief Alison Brower has been at the Sundance Film Festival this week. Brooke Shields attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 20, 2023 in Park City, Utah. Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesIt was impossible not to feel optimistic about the state of independent film at the opening weekend of the 39th Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Insider's Alison Brower writes. The party scene was as lively as ever, anchored by HBO Documentary Films' annual shindig at Ruth's Chris Steak House. Many experts worry that without some type of major intervention, the obstacles facing first-time homebuyers will continue to get worse for years to come.

☆ Inside Sergey Brin's Busy Social Schedule: Parties, Festivals, Burning Man
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In late August this year, Sergey Brin headed to Burning Man. The 49-year-old tech titan traveled to the festival in style, island-hopping across the Pacific Ocean in a modified seaplane. Brin has been spotted more than once at house parties at NeoGenesis, a coliving space for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. As for the bigger psychedelic party, when Burning Man reopened in August after its pandemic hiatus, Brin stayed at First Camp, a VIP community frequented by festival organizers and their friends. Rob Price is a correspondent at Insider, writing features and investigations about the technology industry.

The Mexican grupera (a form of regional music) band Los Bukis become the first Latin music band to sell out two shows at the 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium. The magnitude of generational diversity could be seen when the Grammy award-winning Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte were on stage. Hernán Hernández and Jorge Hernández of the band Los Tigres del Norte perform Saturday. Scott Dudelson / Getty Images"Before, we really were invisible,” said Leila Cobo, a renowned Latin music expert and Billboard’s vice president of Latin content. "Now I think the kids go to see their parents’ music and Bad Bunny."

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